Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello,

I use daddario Slowwound nickel 40-95 on my 3001
bass. They sound and feel great ! Very smooth with a nice but not exagerated top end. On my 4005 I have nickel roundwound Rickenbacker strings 40-95. They sound OK but not as smooth as the daddario's. They certainly don't feel as smooth. The reason is that the 4005 due to its talepiece needs extra long scale strings. And as all 'oldies' it needs a set with low string tension......
Any recomendations anyone ?
Would the Thomasic infield be a good choice tension and sound wise......


Thanks,

Marcus.

TI's are great handwound strings made by an Austrian Co. that has been making orchestra strings for over a century...Dbl bass, cello, violin ect. I believe that they do exert less tension (check out their website or Vintage Bass Trading Co. for the specs) and they have a very springy/spongy feel to them. They're about half the price of Pyramids, but still pricey at $34 a set if you shop around. I've never tried anything but the flats but they are great strings.

Great I will check that out.

thanks,

Marcus

Hi

Welcome to the mystic order of the purple 4005 :^)

I like TI Jazz Bass JR344s on mine.

http://www.sonic.net/~claudel/4005/

Great tone, long enough for the R tailpiece. Low tension ( easy on the long neck ). They seem to not absorb hand gunk and/or dirt. They last a reasonably long time. Unfortunately, not cheap.

Enjoy

Claude

Claude,

Good Job on the 4005. Kinda looks like mine now
except for the toasters and the binding.
Do you have trouble with intonation at all ?
I moved the bridge on mine back a little.
Can't tell from the outside though the plate still covers the old screw holes.

Any experience with the TI Jazz Bass JF 344's these are the flats with a litlle more tension. I am doubting between the rounds and the flats. Good to know that the 344's are long enough for the tailpiece.

Thanks,

Marcus.

Claude: Some of the greatest Rickenbacker photos that I have seen. I have posted one here and I hope you don't mind me taking this liberty.

Claude,

Are the strings in the picture thr TI JR 344's.
The green winding on the E seems to come really close to the nut, even over...
Wouldn't the super long scale be a better choice ?

thanks,

Marcus.

YES, those pics are smashing! Hey, I think I am falling in love with your 4005, Claude.
I really don't believe I'll ever succeed in finding one in these parts (Portugal, Europe).

Claude:
Your bass is beautiful & the photos are fantastic! You should make a calender with those shots.

Marcus asked:
Do you have trouble with intonation at all ?
Nope. There is barely just enough travel in the "E" saddle to properly intonate the low string.


Any experience with the TI Jazz Bass JF 344's these are the flats with a litlle more tension. I am doubting between the rounds and the flats.
Personal preference enters into this. I don't particularly care for flatwounds on either bass or guitar, so no.

Are the strings in the picture thr TI JR 344's.
The green winding on the E seems to come really close to the nut, even over...
Wouldn't the super long scale be a better choice ?

The green winding on the "E" does come right up to the nut and I even had to roll it back a bit. This seems to me to be a better choice than cutting short the longer strings designed for a longer scale instrument. The green wrapping ( I forget what it is supposed to be called ) doesn't deaden the sound or anything bad, and in the past I've had bass strings ( not TIs ) unravel after cutting them to fit a shorter scale then they were designed for.

Sergio:
I really don't believe I'll ever succeed in finding one in these parts (Portugal, Europe).

Be patient. It is a world market these days.
I had to look for a couple of years here in Cali before I found one. Even then it was completely thrashed. ( Check the "before" shots ) The neck was broken off and there were serious body cracks.
I was fortunate enough to slip it into the brief factory refin program a few years back. That, and the skill of my friendly local guitar mechanic are the reasons the restoration turned out so well

Thanks for the props regarding my photos. I am not a photographer. Those are the results of an afternoon with a borrowed Olympus. It's great to not worry about developing/ film costs and to be able to sort thru a bunch of shots and keep the good ones. There are also some detail shots of a couple of Marshalls and of my AC30 on the website that may be interesting.

Claude

Happy I found this tread as I was going to start one about 4005s & strings, I am thinking of trying some new strings maybe some flats & I'm open to suggestions, the set on there now have been on there for years & I'm not happy w/ the sound of the E string , one thing about my Bass that I have to take into consideration is that the guides for the strings on the "R" tail piece are very narrow, in fact over the years at least 2 or 3 sets of strings I've got for the Ric ended up on the my Jazz Bass because they didn't fit, I have
a friend who swears by Pyramids but I've never tried them before, has anyone here tried Pyramids on their
4005?,

Cheers, Jaime

BTW , on my 1965 4005 I have two screws, one on ether side of the strap button on the end plate that the "R" hangs on , a friend tells me this is correct but I've also heard of 4005's w/ just the strap button screw holding the plate on, has mine been modified?

Hi

Mine is a '67 and has the screws...

Claude

I've got a 4005WB of '74 and it also has the screws.

Chris